Josef Hoffmann

Born in Brtnice, Moravia in Austria-Hungary (now Czech Republic), Austrian architect Josef Hoffmann became a central figure in the evolution of modern design. A graduate from the Academy of the Fine Arts Vienna with a Prix de Rome in 1895, , alongside peers Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner. He was a co-founder of the Vienna Secession two years later, and established the Wiener Werkstätte (the Viennese Workshops) with Koloman Moser. The "Sitzmaschine" chair for the Wiener Werkstätte that is now part of The Museum of Modern Art's collection. Many of Hoffmann's most popular designs are still in production, including the geometric Kubus Armchair, designed in 1910. His favor towards squares and cubes earned him the nickname "Quadratl-Hoffmann" ("Square Hoffmann") Hoffmann was a pioneering practitioner of what would become a fundamental principle of modernism: that good design is a way of life. Josef Hoffmann chairs & furniture remain popular worldwide.